When we walk into a bookstore, the first place we go is the staff recommendation shelves—it’s how you get a quick sense of the personality of the store. The very best bookstores are merely a reflection of the eclectic, deeply felt opinions of the book-lovers who work there. As part of our Interview with a Bookstore, we asked the staff at Lutyens & Rubinstein what they recommend.

SLIDESHOW: Lutyens & Rubinstein Staff Shelf

JULIET MAHONY (AGENCY RIGHTS MANAGER) RECOMMENDS: Probably my favorite book of all time. Jean Nathan resolves to find the author of some beloved books from her childhood. The result is a truly mesmerizing and extraordinary biography of the incomparable Dare Wright.

JULIET MAHONY (AGENCY RIGHTS MANAGER) RECOMMENDS: I really like novels told from different characters point of view and this one is no exception. It’s just published by W&N –brilliantly compelling with great voices and a real enigma in Sophie Stark.

JULIET MAHONY (AGENCY RIGHTS MANAGER) RECOMMENDS: A classic that I, shamefully, read for the first time over Christmas. It’s very rare to find a book that will genuinely make you laugh out loud but this one had me in stitches. I never wanted it to end.

JULIET MAHONY (AGENCY RIGHTS MANAGER) RECOMMENDS: The story of a relationship told through the objects each person owned and told in the form of an auction house catalogue. If you haven’t read it, it’s completely unique and utterly wonderful.

JULIET MAHONY (AGENCY RIGHTS MANAGER) RECOMMENDS: The first book in the Tales of the Otori series—full of action, adventure, magic and unforgettable characters. The first time I read it I cried like a baby. I wish the series could go on forever.

JULIET MAHONY (AGENCY RIGHTS MANAGER) RECOMMENDS: A stunning work of non-fiction which follows a case in Australia where a man crashed his car into a dam, killing his three children—but was it a deliberate act of revenge or a tragic accident? Helen Garner’s exquisite prose takes us on a search for truth.

CLAIRE HARRIS (SHOP MANAGER) RECOMMENDS: This is one of my favourite autobiographies! Now considered one of New Zealand’s leading writers, this moving and sometimes tragic life is illuminated by beautiful prose. From an extraordinary story of misdiagnosis resulting in time in a psychiatric hospital and a near lobotomy to travels alone in Ibiza and England, she is always and everywhere sustained and uplifted by a love of literature and writing.

CLAIRE HARRIS (SHOP MANAGER) RECOMMENDS: This haunting trilogy tells, in simple, spare language, the story of twins Claus and Lucas. But the underlying story of the dark forces dividing Europe during and since the war is far more complex. A mesmerizing read.

CLAIRE HARRIS (SHOP MANAGER) RECOMMENDS: Elizabeth Taylor is one of my favorite writers and it was difficult to choose one book above the others. I chose this one for the setting: a coastal, harbor village where everyone can see much of what everyone else is doing. We move from one viewpoint to another as secrets are exposed and domestic crises reach dramatic heights.

CLAIRE HARRIS (SHOP MANAGER) RECOMMENDS: I love Nineteenth Century classics but haven’t read many Spanish ones, so I was delighted when Penguin released the House of Ulloa. It is a wonderful example of novelistic elements of the time: gothic, tragic, satire set against a country estate and the decline of a great house.

CLAIRE HARRIS (SHOP MANAGER) RECOMMENDS: Another of my favorite writers (and another Spanish one)! Marias is a novelist like no other and it is no surprise he has a huge following. The story runs almost like a thriller but the narrative is unique and mesmerizing so that the reader feels a sense of uniqueness.

CLAIRE HARRIS (SHOP MANAGER) RECOMMENDS: Michelle Paver is probably better known for her very popular childrens books, but Dark Matter is the most terrifying book I have ever read. It is a ghost story set in the Arctic where one man contends with solitude, darkness, extreme cold and the unknown. A chilling read in both senses of the word!

CLAIRE HARRIS (SHOP MANAGER) RECOMMENDS: The first in a fantastic series of middle-grade murder mysteries. Hazel Wong is the new girl at her 1930s boarding school. Luckily Daisy Wells is there to take her under her wing and introduce her to the Detective Society. When a mistress is found dead, Daisy and Hazel are on the case…

TARA (ASSISTANT SHOP MANAGER & CHILDREN’S BUYER) RECOMMENDS: Something is wrong with Triss. She wakes up with leaves in her hair, pages of her diary are missing and she’s convinced her dolls are speaking to her. Will she be able to solve her problem? An eerie and thrilling novel for teenagers.

TARA (ASSISTANT SHOP MANAGER & CHILDREN’S BUYER) RECOMMENDS: Imagine being one of the non-Scooby Gang kids at Sunnydale High; that’s what Patrick Ness’ fantastic new novel is about. While the Indie Kids deal with an extra terrestrial threat, Mikey and his friends are dealing with the stresses of (mostly-) normal life. An amazing concept, brilliantly executed.

TARA (ASSISTANT SHOP MANAGER & CHILDREN’S BUYER) RECOMMENDS: In a London where Under-15s are employed as ghost hunters, Lucy goes to work for the mysterious Anthony Lockwood. Really gripping, and genuinely scary in places!

TARA (ASSISTANT SHOP MANAGER & CHILDREN’S BUYER) RECOMMENDS: As funny as the (1960s) film, and packed with gorgeous writing, this classic tale of identical twins who find each other at summer camp still feels fresh now.

FELICITY (OWNER) RECOMMENDS: When we canvassed our hundreds of friends in the industry about which titles no good bookshop should be without, the one that came up most often was A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry, a magical book which transforms a penetrating description of the lives of four of India’s most desperate disposed into a unputdownable, unforgettable, uplifting book that makes you glad to be alive and reading.